Santa Clara man receives six years in beating death

SILVER CITY — A Santa Clara man received the maximum sentence of six years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter for beating a man to death in March 2011.

Victor Sandoval, 23, was initially charged with an open count of murder in the beating death of Henry Garcia, who was 51 at the time of his death on March 28, 2011. Garcia died of "multiple blunt force injuries" after Sandoval "punched and kicked him" in a confrontation at a home in the Manhattan Park subdivision in Santa Clara, according to court records.

An open count of murder meant that Sandoval could have been charged with first- or second-degree murder, or voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, but the evidence didn't support either of the murder charges, said Deputy District Attorney George Zsoka, who prosecuted the case for the state. The evidence only supported the charge of voluntary manslaughter, Zsoka said, and Sandoval agreed to plead guilty to that charge.

Sentencing was left to the discretion of the court, according to the plea agreement filed in Silver City District Court in July.

At the sentencing hearing on Aug. 23, Sandoval's little sister Sabrina Sandoval said her brother was not a bad person or a criminal and was only defending his sisters.

"I understand the crime he committed deserves to be punished, but he served time," she said. "He just loves his sisters. In the circumstances, any brother, any family member, would have reacted the same way. I love him very much and I think all of us have suffered enough.

Advertisement

He has suffered enough, and having him home any time soon would be just wonderful."

Defense attorney Gary Mitchell asked the court to consider suspending a portion of the sentence, noting that his client has no prior record and had already served a year and five months. He also said this case is the type some lawyers would suggest taking to a jury and hope for some type of jury nullification, but that Sandoval admitted what he did was wrong and was taking responsibility by pleading guilty.

"He acknowledged that his actions were wrong, that they were out of anger for what had happened to his sisters," Mitchell said.

He said Sandoval's former coaches at Cobre High School described him as a "gentle giant" and that Sandoval acted out of anger the day he beat Garcia.

He also said there were major dysfunctions in both families, but that despite those dysfunctions, Sandoval had done surprisingly well and hoped some day to receive a pardon so that he could work in a profession helping people.

Sandoval also addressed the court and apologized to the victim's family.

"I understand what I have done is wrong," he said. "I know I did a very stupid thing. I acted in anger. What happened to my family, it just ripped my soul apart. I couldn't handle it. I had to try to do something. I had to help. I am very sorry. This is not what normal people do. I need to apologize to all the Garcia family. I know they loved me. I know they will miss me forever and I know its my fault."

He also thanked his family for being there.

Steve Garcia, the brother of the victim, told the court the sentence was too lenient.

"I sit here in disbelief," he said. "We, the Garcia family, feel like the judicial system has done us an injustice. Victor is looking at six years for killing someone. We all loved Henry and we all cared about him. It's just not fair. No one has the right, regardless of the circumstances, to take someone else's life and nobody is above the law. We had previously asked for more time. We know that's not going to happen. We, as a family, just ask that he gets sentenced to the maximum."

Steve Garcia also said the dispute between the defendant and the victim had been going for months that another family member should have taken some action to separate the two.

"This thing with Victor and Henry, it didn't have to come to that," he said. "They worked together."

The victim owned Garcia Waste Management with his brothers, a family business they took over after his parents, Joe and Elena Garcia, were murdered in Albuquerque in 2004.

Steve Garcia said Sandoval deprived Henry Garcia's three children, the youngest of whom is just 17, of their father, and his grandchildren of their grandpa.

"Six years to me is a piece of cake to me for what he did for taking someone else's life," he said. "He gets up here, his family gets up here, and talks about what an awesome person he is. He quit the wrestling team, quit the football team, dropped out of school, and wasn't really doing anything productive with his life. We employed him just to help him out so he'd have a little money in his pocket."

Zsoka asked District Court Judge J.C. Robinson to sentence Sandoval to the maximum of six years in prison. According to the plea agreement, Robinson could have sentenced him to as little as time served.

"We cannot forget that this is a criminal act that was committed by this defendant that resulted in the loss of a human life," he said. "If the penalty for this crime were, say, 20 years, there might be room to argue for a certain amount of leniency but in our judicial scheme the maximum sentence is six years and I would respectfully submit to the court to impose anything less would be a grave injustice towards the victim and towards the victim's family."

"Anything I do today isn't the thing that I'd like to do," Judge Robinson began. "It would be nice if I had the ability to restore Henry to life, but that is not possible, and so the question in this case is to try to fashion something appropriate."

Judge Robinson also addressed Steve Garcia's claim that the judicial system had failed his family.

"The judicial system didn't fail you," the judge said. "The judicial system is trying to resolve this matter within the limits of its authority. If you have a complaint about the statutory sentencing system, you need to talk to your legislators because they are the one that establish the sentencing, not the judicial system."

He sentenced Sandoval to the maximum under the law — six years in prison, with credit for time served. He also recommended Sandoval attend a therapeutic community and take advantage of any other services available to him.

Had the case gone to trial, Sandoval could have been found not guilty of the charge of voluntary manslaughter, or found guilty of the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter, which only carries a maximum sentence of 18 months.

Because the crime is serious violent felony, Sandoval will have to do at least 85 percent of his sentence. Although he will be eligible for good time, he will only be eligible for up to 15 percent off of his sentence, not 50 percent as defendants are eligible for under other crimes.